Friction clutch or brake.



A. P. BRUSH.

FRICTION GLUTGH OR BRAKE.

APPLIOATION TILED JULY 3, 1907.

930,726. Patented Aug. 10, 1909.

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A. P. BRUSH.

FRICTION CLUTCH OR BRAKE.

YAPPLIOATION FILED JULY 3, 1907.

930,726, Patented Aug. 10, 1909.

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ALANSON P. BRUSH, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

FRICTION CLUTCH 0R- BRAKE.

Specification of- Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 10, 1909-.

Application filed .Iu1y8, 907. Serial No. 381,969.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALANSON P. Buns-n, a citizen of the United States,-residing at Detroit, the county of Wayne and State. of Michigan, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Friction: Clutches. or Brakes, of-which the following is a full, clear, and exact description. I

The object of the invention is to provide a controlled self-adjusting and partially self-setting friction clutch or brake; that is to say, a contriva-nce includingat least two friction members, which may be caused to assume a common state of rest or of rotary motion, as the case may be, through friction rendered adequate for the purpose by the torque due to their frictional-engagement.

The invention is capable of embodiment in a variety of forms, and is. capable of use in almost any situation where friction clutches orbrakes are employed. It has been found especially useful'in connection with planetary gearing, and the drawings show itassociated with said gearing; andshow the invention in two forms, one serving as abrake to bring a rotating member'to rest, and one as a clutch to impart rotary motion to a rotatable member.

The invention includes an engageable member which is capable of rotation, and an engaging member which is capable of mo tion about the same axis, and is also ca. able of being moved longitudinally to ring about a fri tionalengagement between it and the ot er membcr,-said arts being associated with mechanism w erebythe torquedue to the initial-frictional contact of said members will cause the engaging member to meve longitudinally to increase the friction pressure,and, if desired, into such cliose frictional contact with the other member that, irrespective of the load, said other member may become frictionally locked to the engaglng member.

lit also consists of numerous other more specifically defined combinations of parts, and in, various -sub-combinations thereof substantially pointed out in the claims.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a plan View partly in section of planetary gearing em- =loyingtwo embodiments of the invention 18158111 dieclosed,--one form" being arranged to, ;ser-ve as a brake to stop a rotatable memher, and the other form being arrangedto serve as a friction clutch to. rotate the same member. F 2' is an end view with the end cap removed, and partly sectioned in the planes indicated by lines AA on Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a side elevation partly in section, of the same mechanism disclosed in Fig. 1.

Referring to the parts by numerals, 1 rep resents a driving shaft; 2 represents the member which is to be rotated or stopped as the case may be.. lt'is independently rotatato about the, same axis as shaft 1, and as shown is mounted thereon. It has a conical outer periphery 3, and a conical inner periphery 4.

5 represents the engaging member of the clutch, which member is rotatably mounted upon the same axis as the shaft. Inthe specific form shown, it is rotatably mounted upon the hub of the member 2. Mechanism to be described causes this member to rotate in substantial unison with the'shaft 1, but permits said member to turn through a small arc independently of the shaft. The memher 5- has an external conical surface 6 which is adapted to engage with and fit the internal conical surface 4. It is by the longitudinal movement of the member 5 toward the member 2 that the frictional engagement of the conical surface is brought about,-it being understood'that the member 2 has no capacity for longitudinal movement. Secured to the driving shaft 1 is, a collar -7 having oppositely extended studs 8. I On each of these studs a bell crank lever 10 is mounted. One substantially horizontal arm 11 of each lever has a ball shaped end which enters and substantially fits a hole 9 inthe engaging member 5,. The other arm 12 of each of these bell crank levers extends at substantially right anglesto the other arm, and its outer end is slotted as at 13 and receives a pin 14 carried by an arm 15 which is attached to a sliding sleeve 16 on the shaft 1. The two arms 12, one attached to each of the levers 10, extend to opposite sides of the shaft. There are two of the arms 15. which lie on opposite sides of the shaft, so; that their pins 14 may be engaged respectively in the s ots inthe ends of these lever arms.

It will be understoodthat when the slidi sleevelG is. normally held against longitiifiinal movement, the levers 10 cannot rock. Therefore, since they are carried by a sleeve fixed to the shaft, motion is trans mitted from the shaft through the said 001- tween the engaging surfaces.

lar and bell crank levers 10 to the member 5,

v of a cam, which is adapted to engage with said member 5. *Vhen, by the movement of the sliding sleeve 16 toward the collar -7, the levers 10 are rocked, these cams push the engaging -member 5 longitudinally. dentally the member 5 is turned slightly relative'to shaft 1. The torque due to this frictional engagement and the inertia of the member 2 tends to retard the member 5 and cause it to lag behind the shaft 1 by which it is driven. This lag or slight rotation of member 5 relative to the shaft causes the rocking of the levers 10 in that direction which causes the cams thereon to press more strongly against the face of the member 5 and to push it longitudinally so as to increase the friction between the engaging surfaces on the members 2 and 5. The greater the load or resistance of the member 2 to assuming a condition of motion uniform with that of the member 5,that is to say, the greater the torque, the farther will memher 2 be turned on shaft 1, and the greater will be the pressure of the cams against the engaging member; and, therefore, the greater will be the frictional pressure beseen, therefore, that while the action of the device is controlled'so as to bring about or prevent the initial contact of the friction surface, the device may be selfsetting and self-adjusting thereafter. Once an initial frictional engagement is brought about between'the'friction surface, that friction will be automatically increased until the desired maximum is produced. It will be understood that by varying the relative lengths. of the arms of the levers 10, and the shape of cams on the arms 12, the maximum friction pressure attainable may be varied, and also the time in which that maximum frictional pressure is attained.

The invention is embodied in a different form to constitute the brake.

20 represents the engaging member for stopping the member 2. It is a ring surrounding saidmember having an inclined conicalinner friction surface opposed to the external conical friction surfaces on said member 2. This ringis fitted within and supported by thefixed external casing21. ()bviously,-if said ring be moved to the right in Fig. 1, it will bring its conical. friction surface into engagement with the opposed surface on member '2.

In the casing 21 are two inclined or spiral Inci- It will be trifle less than the width of the slot, and this roll lies in the associated slot.

A lever 25 having a forked outer end 26 is suitably mounted and is provided with a suitable device 27 for rocking it. A ball-shaped end is formed on the outer end of one of the studs 23 fixed to the clutching ring,'and is embraced-by the fork 26. By rocking this lever 25 in'one direction or the other, this ring is caused to turn through a small arc about the axis of the shaft 1. As it is so turned, it is compelled to move longitudinally, at a rate determined by the inclination of slots 22, into or out of engagement with member 2. As soon as the friction resulting from this engagement is suflicient'ly strong for the purpose ring 20 willbe turned, and therefore will be moved longitudinally in that. direction which causes it to press with greater force upon the member 2, thereby insuring the setting of the brake strongly enough to hold the member 2 immovable.

The sliding sleeve 16 may be moved by a fork lever secured to a rock shaft 31; and the lever 25 may be loosely mounted on said rock shaft, so that each may be independently moved. The lever arms and 27 may be respectively fast to the rock shaft 31 and lever 25 for turning them. \Vhen the described mechanism is part of a planetary gear system, some selective operating device should preferably be used which will permit the operation of either the clutch or brake, but only when the other is not in use. Such a device is fully described in a copending application.

The invention hereinbefore described is not limited to use as a part of a planetary gear system,-nor is it limited to any partic-ular form of the friction surfaces. They ma y be of any form which may be brought into engagement through the longitudinal movement of one of the friction members. It is also apparent that the generic invention is capable of embodiment in widely different specific forms, two of which are shown and described. Some of the appended claims are intended to cover the invention generically, irrespective of the specific form thereof.

Having described my invention, I claim:

'1. In a friction clutch or brake, the combination of an engageable member adapted ever there is any relative rotary movement between said engaging member and driving shaft, and vice versa.

2. In a friction clutch or brake, the combination of an engageable member, a concentric driving shaft, a concentric engaging member for engaging the other member, a movable device mounted on the driving shaft for transmitting motion therefrom to the engaging member, means carried by said transmitting member for moving the engaging member longitudinally into frictional engagement with the engageable member, and means whereby the torque produced through such frictional engagement moves the engaging member longitudinally towardthe other member.

3. In a friction clutch or brake, the com-- bination of an engageable member, a concentric driving shaft, a concentric member for engaging the other member, a movable device mounted on the driving shaft for trans-- mitting motion therefrom to the engaging member, means carried by said transmitting member for moving the engagingv member longitudinally, the construction being such that the lag of theengaging member relative to the driving shaft causes such movement of the transmitting member as causes the longi-- f mechanism for rocking said lever.

In a friction clutch, the combination of a rotatable engaging member, a driving shaft, an engaging member concentric therewith and having a longitudinal hole through it, a lever pivoted to the driving shaft on a A laterally extended pivot, said lever having one portion which enters the hole in said engaging member and having also a cam for engaging with the face of said engaging member, a sliding sleeve, and a I in carried thereby, said lever being provided with a slot. in one of its arms into which said pin projects.

6. In a friction clutch or brake, the combination of an engageable clutchmember,

means limiting the longitudinal movement of said clutch member, a concentric shaft rotatable independently of said engageable clutch member, an engaging clutch member movably mounted on said shaft,-said two clutch members being provided with friction surfaces which Will be caused to engage or disengage by the longitudinal movements of the engaging member, mechanism intermediate of said engaging member and its shaft by which the movement o f.the engaging member longitudinally toward the engage- .able member. is necessarily accompanied by a backward turning of said engaging member relative to its shaft, and vice versa, and mechanism for moving said engageablemember relative to its shaft into initial contact with the engageable-member. I In testimony whereof,'I hereunto affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ALANSON P. BRUSH.

- V Witnesses:

E. L. THURsroN, E. B.-GiLoHa1sT. 

